JUNE 2021 THE RIDER/ 7 Equine Asthma & Pollution During the summer


there are often waves of horses presenting with res- piratory disease. Ontario Veterinary College re- searcher, Janet Beeler- Marfisi never


really


ascribed that to being part of air pollution, until her recent research revealed horses, with their far greater lung capacity and athleticism, can also suffer when air pol- lution levels rise. Checking the Air


Quality Health Index is how many humans suffering from asthma start their day and subsequently plan their activities. As an asthma suf- ferer, Beeler has personal experience recognizing how the air quality can affect her own breathing. She has al- ways wondered if horses could also be impacted? In this Ontario study published in 2020, Beeler and her col- leagues discovered: In- creased Weekly Mean PM2.5, and NO2 Are Asso- ciated With Increased Pro- portions of Lower Airway Granulocytes in Ontario Horses.


So what does an increase in airway granulocytes mean in correlation to pol- lution? Beeler explains, “the


lungs have cells inside the air sacs, and they protect the lungs against things that we breathe in. If the lower air- way granulocytes are in- creased, it implies that there is inflammation they are re- sponding to. We noted that there was an increase in cer- tain types of inflammatory cells when air pollution was high.” Interestingly, proxim-


ity to a city was a factor in the study. Beeler described that what we used to call smog we now call poor air quality. Proximity to cars, which give off a lot of par- ticulate makes up a major portion of poor air quality. The lungs are part of


the foundation for a horse’s amazing athletic capacity. Even minimal inflammation can lead to problems with breathing, decreases in ath- letic performance and could decrease the longevity of a horse’s career if left


Be sure to listen to Dr. Beeler’s fascinating research and great analogy on how the lungs defend themselves against particulates - https://youtu.be/5VH9EP6n19w


unchecked. Certainly, any cough or breathing issue should be addressed by the veterinarian right away. Prevention is the first


defence against respiratory issues. Beeler has three tips for reducing particulates in your horses environment: 1/ “Based on my research, I would hope that people look at Air Quality Health Index and when the air quality is poor, choose not push our equine athletes to their max- imal efforts during those times.”


2/ Barn related factors! For example: watering before sweeping, put sweepings into the manure pile rather than sending that dust into the horse’s stall where they


can breathe it in while eat- ing off the ground. 3/ “I personally have an issue with round bale feed- ing or large square bale feeding. They stick their face into the bale and they are breathing in all of the particulates. Even good- looking hay contains mould spores and dust from the soil, which are just naturally occurring and can contribute to lung inflammation.” There are more studies


on equine lung health in Dr. Beeler’s future. Next, she will be looking at the effects of pollution on exercise in- duced pulmonary hemor- rhage, otherwise known as bleeding.


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